James River Freeway is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

located largely on the south side of

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

. Its western terminus is at

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

(I-44) north of

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

and its eastern terminus is at

U.S. Route 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of ...

(US 65) in southeastern Springfield. It is named for the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, which passes near the highway at the freeway's eastern terminus. A total of four highways (and one

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

) are routed on the highway: Route 360, US 60, US 160, Route 13, and Business US 65.

Route description

The portion of the James River Freeway between

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fa ...

and the interchange with US 60 and Route 413 is designated as Route 360. Other than its endpoints, there is only one interchange on the route: Route MM in

(now part of Republic). Exit markers for the highway mark the road as the James River Freeway and have no control cities, only "To Route 60" eastbound and "To I-44" westbound. The control cities between US 60 and US 65 are

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

westbound and Rogersville eastbound. At US 65, they are

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

westbound and Cabool eastbound.

History

As Springfield began to expand to the south, traffic began to grow rapidly on Route M (known locally as Republic Road) causing significant traffic problems. A proposal for a new highway on the south side (I-44 is on the north, and US 65, also a freeway, is on the east) had been around for some time. By the early 1990s, the road was under construction. It opened in four sections:

Section 1

The first section connected US 160 (Campbell Avenue) with US 65. It took over a slightly reworked Glenstone Avenue which had been around previously and built not-quite to freeway standards. When the original highway had turned, an interchange was built and Glenstone Avenue turned west to become Republic Road. The new south outer road (east of the interchange) now became Glenstone Avenue. Republic Road also crosses over the same interchange and continues east. At this point, Route M was routed down the freeway and Republic Road became a city street.

Section 2

The second section was a relatively short section connecting Kansas Expressway and Campbell Avenue. Shortly after the road was opened, US 60 was rerouted so that it turned south on Kansas Expressway (previously, a city street), then joined the James River Freeway, continuing on east past Glenstone where the road originally joined the freeway.

Section 3

The third section connected US 60 with Kansas Expressway. At the same time it was opened, West Bypass (which previously ended at Sunshine Street to the north, then US 60) was extended south and provided access to west Battlefield Road. US 60 was re-routed down the new stretch of freeway at this time and US 160 was rerouted down West Bypass, joining the freeway for a few miles before turning off again at Campbell Ave.

Section 4

The final section connected Interstate 44 with US 60. Route MM had long served as a bypass on the west side of the city, running through the former town of Brookline but as a two-lane road inadequate for its traffic. The final section served to connect these two roads, also provide traffic relief for US 65 on the east side of the city by providing a direct path from Interstate 44 on the west side of Springfield with US 60, a major east–west road on the south side of the state east of the city (much traffic had had to travel to US 65 and head south to US 60). This section, completed in 2002, was designated as Route 360.

Future

West of Interstate 44

The freeway will not be extended west of I-44 to connect it to the airport. Instead MoDOT and the city of Springfield shared in the upgrade of the I-44 and Chestnut Expressway interchange. A new road was built that connects the new terminal with Route 266 (Chestnut).

Glenstone Avenue interchange

Due to continued development on the city's south side, MODOT and the City of Springfield shared in the reconstruction of the Glenstone Ave. and James River Freeway interchange. Part of the interchange was moved to the south and west of the original interchange. Traffic wanting to enter James River Freeway going east now travels over the bridge and around a loop. Traffic coming from Republic Road wanting to enter JRF going east simply takes the existing on-ramp. Traffic wanting to exit from eastbound JRF to get to North Glenstone or W. Republic Road will take the new exit to get to the new part of the interchange. Traffic from westbound JRF exiting to N. Glenstone or W. Republic Rd. will use the existing exit ramp and traffic entering westbound JRF from Glenstone or Republic will use the existing on-ramp. The stoplight for this part of the interchange will remain. The project was completed in December 2008. By October of 2021, There will be a roundabout on the south side of the interchange. Roads entering/exiting the roundabout include Republic Rd/Glenstone Ave, Nature Center Way (JRF outer road), and the ramp to US 60 East. There are currently two ramps to eastbound US 60, one supporting traffic from E. Republic Road and the other from S. Glenstone Ave. The ramp supporting E. Republic Road will be demolished, and the other ramp will be restructured and widened to support left-turning traffic from E. Republic Road and connect to the new roundabout. US 60 will be receiving a new through travel lane in each direction with this project.

US 60 & US 65

The current cloverleaf interchange has been the source of many accidents due to the growth of the cities of Ozark, Nixa, and Branson to the south. Also, the railroad crossing, which crosses not only the freeway itself, but the ramp from east 60 to south 65, has also resulted in numerous accidents from vehicles stopping because of a train passing or because they are required to (buses or trucks carrying hazardous materials). The current highway, James River Freeway, curves and then travels down a steep grade to the interchange with US 65 then crosses James River before going up a steep grade and curve before heading east towards Rogersville, MO. Completed in October 2012, a large project replaced the two eastern loops with

flyover ramp An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and ''underpass'' together form ...

s. The northbound US 65 bridge over US 60, as well as the westbound US 60 bridge over James River were replaced. The railroad

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...

was removed by building four bridges over Galloway Creek and the

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

track.

East of US 65

MoDOT discussed the possibility of upgrading US 60 east of the US 65 freeway, to as far east as Rogersville, at a public meeting on November 29, 2007. So far interchanges have been constructed in Rogersville as well as at the J/NN intersection. An interchange at Route 125 will be completed by 2023.

National Avenue area

A construction project was completed in July 2010 to improve traffic flow near the Cox Health buildings in southern Springfield by converting the interchange into a six-lane

diverging diamond interchange A diverging diamond interchange (DDI), also called a double crossover diamond interchange (DCD), is a subset of diamond interchange in which the opposing directions of travel on the non-freeway road cross each other on either side of the inte ...

(DDI). It was the second DDI to appear in Springfield (the first being the Interstate 44/Kansas Expressway interchange). Just north of this interchange, a safer underpass was created for E. Bradford Parkway to remove the at-grade intersection with National Avenue. Both of these projects were funded through a partnership between MODOT, the City of Springfield, and Cox Health Systems.

Exit list

References

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline U.S. Route 60 Freeways in the United States Transportation in Springfield, Missouri Transportation in Greene County, Missouri